The Dark Twilight Dusk
by Lavender-Star
Summary: Veiled on a coral reef island and concealed from the world outside her home, Hayden was a prodigy water bender and envied by many. When she finds a mysterious, ancient journal in the water temple at the foot of her village, things take an immense turn...


_Water  
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Fire  
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_Earth  
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_Air  
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_All four nations were brought together in harmony in the ages of the Avatar._

_But then, everything started to change._

_The Fire Nation waged war across the three other nations for dominance and power._

_And when they needed the Avatar most, he vanished._

_A hundred years has passed and now he has been reawakened by two teenagers from the Southern Water Tribe._

_However, they weren't the only ones who discovered something spectacular._

_

* * *

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" Lady Hayden! Lady Hayden! " a small child's voice called out from the distance, followed by a rustling sound of feet against the wooded walkway and laughter chiming in the air. A young girl ahead of the brood, around the age of fifteen, slowly whirled her petite body to face the children, her lengthy, thick, dark brown hair, swaying with her body. The bright rays of the sun beamed down upon the town of Naiya and all its residences, creating Lady Hayden's bright, daylight blue eyes to shine and gleam. Her dark skin looked tanner in the sun then it usually does inside. Her bangs that were parted to the side were an unusually dyed color of daylight blue, matching well with her eyes. Her height was the average height of a fifteen year old facing adolescence, five feet, four inches. She had her fragile arms in front of her body while clasping her hands like the proper young lady she was raised to be. A smile was raised on her lips as she saw the group of youngsters headed her way. They were almost out of breath when they reached her.

" Lady Hayden! " a small girl yelled.

This Lady's name was Hayden, an intelligent and talented water-bending from a water tribe east of the Earth Kingdom in the tropical region. This small water tribe town is called Naiya. It is an island hidden from the rest of the world and all its secrets with it. Naiya is a coral-based town where all everything is built upon coral formations with the town completely surrounded by clear, sea blue water. Although, towards the north of the town is a diminutive forest based on leveled ground, where the towns people go to gather wood to build their homes. To get around the town, the residences built docks and walkways of wood above the water. The entire town is like this, with the exception around coral formations where houses are built. People from this town are usually dark skinned and their dietary is based on fish from the sea and greens from the forest. Most people in this town are exceptionally good water-benders, but there is that one who is a prodigy.

That one is Hayden and that's why most of the younglings call her 'Lady', because she's a prodigy water-bender very well known around Naiya.

" What is it, you guys? " she asks them sweetly. The little boy that was calling her name spoke up.

" We were just wondering if you would tell us one of your stories! " he said. All the other children were nodding and yipping ' Yeah! '.

" Please, miss Hayden!? " a young girl pleaded. Hayden gave a small laugh and nodded.

" Of course I will. Just follow me " she said to the happy children as she turned around and began to walk in the broad daylight, sun shinning bright, the children subsequent to her path. The children cheered mildly and then quieted down as Hayden began her famous story telling. " Now let's see, what story shall I tell today? " she thought aloud in a curious manner, as if expecting an answer from the young ones.

" OH!OH! Tell us the one about the Ba Sing Se Princess! " a little girl quickly yelled out. Then another girl spoke loudly.

" Yeah! And that man that she loved but wasn't allowed to be with him because he was a bad man! "

" Alright, alright. Okay kids, listen well..." she started as the group of 7 young ones and her walked down a walkway, the chatter of the other people filling the air, and then sat on a round circular wood platform at the edge of the walkway, surrounded by clear water and coral. Lady Hayden sat in the front of the children while they all gathered around. A seagull's cry could be heard in the air and she began her story.

" Long, long ago, in the time of the Ancients, in the magnificent city of Ba Sing Se, there was a stunning princess by the name of Rhiannon. But this was no ordinary princess, no. This princess was out of the ordinary, born to be a glorious earth bender, but became a legendary water bender. He had wanted her to become an earth bender known through out the land, but his wishes were crushed with the force of the moon as he watched his daughter do an art he had forbade her to do. Thus, he locked her away inside their castle and demanded that the guards watched over the young princess all day and all night, not letting her one step outside of their secured home. The king did not want to become a mockery in the civilization that he had built by letting the people know that his famous daughter was a water bender and not an earth bender. Being the rebellious girl that she was, Rhiannon would not let her father keep her from the outside world. "

All the children kept their eyes on Hayden, amazed, as she continued to tell her story.

" On a dark night when the moon was full in the sky, childish Rhiannon slipped out of the castle like a shadow in daylight and wandered the lower quarters of Ba Sing Sei in the outer ring where most of the peasants lived. She figured that her father would never find her there if he knew she escaped the castle. Rhiannon wandered the living quarters, hiding her face under a white cloak. But when she wandered into an abandoned alley, she was attacked! " Hayden suddenly yelled, expressing the moment and scaring the children.

" A man out of the shadows leaped and threw a blaze of fire at her with force. But Rhiannon was smarter than this, she trained herself to fight when needed. She quickly dodged the flame by jumping to her left and thought that this man must have been a fire bender since he threw a flame at her. Then, with a swift movement of her arms and hands, she summoned water to her aid and gave everything she worked for into fighting this strange man. The man, too, was giving all he had with fire bender and he was exceptionally good at it, making the princess worry. They fought for a long while, moving from spot to spot in the district causing damage to homes and markets. When they finally did stop fighting from exhaustion, Rhiannon lost all her strength and fell to her knees, breathing heavily. The fire bender calmly walked over to her, exhausted as well though hiding it. Rhiannon did not move. When the man was in front of her, he extended his hand out to her. "

A large white tiger with black stripes and rather large ears and claws walked past all the children up to Hayden and sat by her side, its red eyes glowing. Hayden patted the creature on the head. This creature's name was Amonia; she's a very rare type of animal.

" Rhiannon was befuddled at first but accept his gracious offer and he helped her up. She asked for his name, but he would not give it, only a complement on her powerful bender and then left. After this encounter, Rhiannon had decided not to return to her castle, but to stay her and met that mysterious man again and find his name. A month went by and still there was no sign of the man. But Rhiannon did not give up hope. Sooner than she thought, she met the man again, but without the fighting this time. This time, they only asked questions. When she revealed her secret of being the princess, the man was shocked. And when the man revealed his secret of being a spy of the Fire Nation, the princess was too shocked. After that, they became quite good friends. Day by day, the princess was falling in love with this man, and the man falling in love with the princess. But one day, the guards sent by the king to find his daughter found her and she was token away and locked inside the castle again. The man was then determined to get Rhiannon back."

" On the eve of the Summer Solstice, he fought his way through the palace to the princess, who awaited him in the colossal garden. When they were reunited they embraced in a hug. But to only be disrupted by the king himself. The king shouted horrible remarks at his child for being a traitor to their nation and their kingdom and that's when the fire nation man had enough and started a quarrel with the king of the Earth Kingdom. Fire clashed with earth as the two men battled. Rhiannon, frightened out of her mind, intervened in the battle and stopped the two. As she stood between the two men she loved most, her father unleashed a powerful attack of earth towards her and...! " but someone's yell had interrupted Hayden's story telling.

" Hayden! " a girl, around the age of fifteen with long, flowing, jet black hair was shouting as she ran towards the group. Everyone looked startled as they turned to her. Hayden, with a worried expression, got up and walked towards the girl, Amonia following.

" What is it, Meilin? " Hayden asked, concerned. The girl, Meilin, reached Hayden.

" There's a child in danger of drowning over there! " she yelled, pointing to the direction from which she came. Yelling and screams could be heard from that way. Without saying a word or thinking, Hayden quickly ran towards the drowning infant who had fallen off of the walkway. Pushing the shocked people standing at the sides away, she dove into the water head first and swam to the struggling and screaming child. She quickly grabbed him and then swam back to the walkway.

" Here! Grab my hand! " a male's voice said as a hand reached for Hayden. She grabbed the hand and was pulled out of the water along with the now coughing child. Hayden, too, coughs some water out of her lungs. She then looked up to the man who helped her.

" Thank you, Kovu " she says kindly to the boy besides her. Kovu was a strong-built teenage boy at the age of eighteen. He had black, shaggy hair that almost covered his emerald eyes. Kovu and Hayden have been friends for as long as she could remember. Hayden then turned to the child beside her.

" Are you alright? " she asked warmly, trying to comfort the boy. The little boy nodded and his mother ran up to him as Hayden stood up. She then turned to Kovu and smiled as the people gathered around the boy to make sure he was okay.

" Um, Hayden? " a small, timid voice said to the right of her. Hayden again turned to face Meilin with a nervous look.

" Yes? "

Meilin grabbed Hayden's arm softly and pulled her aside from the crowd and Kovu and spoke quietly to her, as if whispering a secret.

" Two outsiders have arrived..." she spoke in silence, then pointing over her shoulder to two men in the distant. Hayden looked and saw a young man with his arms crossed, around the age of sixteen with short black hair and golden eyes. Besides the young man was a lot older man with grey hair and beard who looked jolly-like. They were both wearing raggedy clothing and they both looked like they had been traveling for quite a while.

_Visitors on our island? This has never happened before...Our home is hidden. How did they find us? _

Little did Hayden and Meilin know that these two men were apart of the Fire Nation.

**The Prince and his uncle.**


End file.
